This invention relates generally to drying chambers or areas for curing products to a desired degree of solidification.
A primary use of drying chambers of this type is in the manufacture of candy products, wherein it is necessary to solidify the candy to a desired degree. This drying or curing operation is essential in such candy products as medium-soft candy, orange slices, jelly beans, and nougats, by way of example. Although this invention is primarily applicable to the manufacture of such candy products, it obviously has utility for other products that require some degree of curing, such as lumber, for example.
Drying chambers of the general type with which the instant invention is concerned have been in use for a great number of years, and as early as 1921, Carrier Air Conditioning Corporation developed a method that effected drying and processing of materials by means of conditioned air. As used herein, and throughout this application, the term "conditioned air" refers to air that has been treated so as to maintain a desired temperature and desired moisture control.
In the Carrier system, as well as the present invention, the products to be dried or cured are loaded on a plurality of rows of stacked trays, the design and configuration of the trays being such that a horizontally disposed air space exists between each tray and the tray immediately above and below it. In addition, vertical air spaces exist between adjacent rows of the stacked trays, which trays substantially completely fill the drying chamber or area. Means are provided for introducing and exhausting conditioned air so that the conditioned air is circulated and distributed throughout the chamber in order to effect the desired curing of the products that are positioned on the trays. The problem that has existed, however, is to achieve a highly uniform and even distribution of conditioned air within the chamber in order that the curing of the products mounted on the trays will be uniform. Without highly efficient and uniform air distribution, it will be obvious that some of the products being cured will be solidified to a greater degree than others, which is obviously very undesirable.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved drying chamber having air distribution means wherein the conditioned air introduced to the chamber is circulated in such a way as to provide a controlled, extremely even air flow throughout the chamber, whereby there will be a relatively even and uniform curing of all of the products within the chamber.